Billy Ray Cyrus said that the relationship his 15-year-old daughter Miley Cyrus has with 20-year-old Justin Gaston is "a good thing."

The "Achy Breaky Heart" singer told People magazine that Miley Cyrus' new boyfriend is a "good kid."

"Justin's a good friend. A good friend of the family," Billy Ray Cyrus told People magazine Tuesday. "I met Justin as I was hosting 'Nashville Star' and I introduced the two of them. He's a good kid. Great heart. Lives for the light and he's very talented."

Gaston helped celebrate Miley Cyrus' early 16th birthday bash at Disneyland over the weekend (she turns 16 on Nov. 23), and even joined Billy Ray Cyrus on a rendition of "Achy Breaky Heart."

People also quoted an interview that Billy Ray Cyrus recently gave to "Access Hollywood," where he said of Gaston, "He actually reminds me a lot of myself when I was 20 years old and I was living and searching for the dream."

Cyrus previously dated Nick Jonas of the Jonas Brothers band, who just turned 16.

Miley Cyrus told Seventeen magazine in August that she and Jonas were in love and that she "bawled for a month straight" after their breakup at the end of 2007.

"We were in love with each other," she told Seventeen. "For two years he was basically my 24/7. But it was really hard to keep it from people. We were arguing a lot, and it really wasn't fun."